By Joey Asher Category: Nerves During one of our recent workshops, a woman banker had just delivered a wonderfully engaging presentation about a program she was passionate about. During the presentation, she smiled. She moved around the room. She spoke with excitement in her voice and in her face. When she sat down, our coach [...]

By Joey Asher Category: Content “Can you teach me how to be funny?” That’s a question I get a lot. And the answer is “No”. But I can teach you to keep it light. And for most business settings, that’s better than being funny. Being Funny is Hard in A Business Setting In a workshop [...]

By Joey Asher Category: Nerves I had an English professor in college who said, “If you write a really great story, you’re screwed.” He meant that the best storytellers have the courage to open up their personal lives and tell the truth about themselves, even if the truth is embarrassing. Similarly, if you want to [...]

Joey Asher President of Speechworks, a selling and communication skills coaching company in Atlanta. He has worked with hundreds of business people helping them learn how to communicate in a way that connects with clients. His new book 15 Minutes Including Q&A: a Plan to Save the World from Lousy Presentations” is [...]

By Joey Asher Category: Q&A On the classic game show “Name that Tune”, contestants would compete to name a popular song in as few a notes a possible. We’d like to see a business world version of that game called “Answer that Question.” In this game, contestants must answer the question in as few sentences [...]

By Joey Asher Category: Content One way to determine whether you’re a good speaker is to see how many times you use the words “For example” in your presentations. If you use those words a lot, then chances are that you’re telling lots of stories when you speak. And if you’re telling lots of stories, [...]

By Joey Asher Category: Content, Other My rabbi gave a nice sermon recently. As I listened, I couldn’t help thinking about how strange it is these days to hear an actual speech. It seems out of place -- in a world of text messages, cat videos on YouTube, and iPhone-addled attention spans -- to hear [...]

By Joey Asher Category: Networking The last 50 years in public speaking have been the JFK/Ronald Reagan era. The next 50 will be the YouTube/Talk Radio /iPhone era. Indeed, to be a great speaker today, you must learn to connect with listeners who have been conditioned by the modern media. Ancient Greeks to YouTube The [...]

By Joey Asher Category: Other “When I’m leading a meeting, I find that people spend a lot of time typing emails. What is your strategy for dealing with the iPhone problem?” “When I’m leading a conference call, I know that there are people listening in who aren’t paying attention. They’re surfing the internet, writing memos, [...]

By Joey Asher Category: Other Yogi Berra said, “You can see a lot by just looking.” Similarly, you can hear a lot by just listening. If there is one skill that will make you better at almost everything, it’s listening. Want to build a better relationship with a client or colleague? Listen. Want to be [...]